Why do rescues need foster homes for a dog ?

Why do rescues need foster homes?

A rescue may not have a physical shelter/kennels and depends on foster homes to care for dogs until suitable forever homes are found.

A puppy may be too young to be adopted and needs a safe place to stay until he or she is old enough to go to a forever home.

A dog may be recovering from surgery, illness or injury and needs a safe enviroment to recuperate.

A dog may be finding kennel/rescue life stressful, showing signs such as pacing or hiding in the back of its kennel.

A dog may not have lived in a home before or has not had very little contact with humans and needs to be socialized.

The rescue is running out of room for adoptable dogs and may have urgent incoming rescues.

So why should I consider offering a foster home to a dog?

Next to owning a dog, there is nothing more enjoyable or rewarding than fostering an dog from a rescue (other than adopting, of course).

By offering a foster home to a rescue dog your home you’re:

Freeing up a spot so the rescue can take in another dog.

Giving your foster dog the time he needs to be ready for adoption.

Helping the rescue learn more about the dog so he can end up in the best home possible.

Socializing the dog to a home environment and possibly getting him used to being around other pets and different types of people.

Even if you have another dog at home already, you might be able to fit in a temporary foster dog.

Here are a few important things you should know before offering a foster home and contacting a rescue;

Your Time:

You may be asked to foster a dog from two weeks to two months, depending on circumstances. so there’s a time commitment. Foster parents don’t need to be home 24 hours a day, but you may have to rearrange your weekends or breaks if you’re asked to take care of a rescue dog for a while.

Different types of fostering:

Rescues don’t just need foster home for puppies or young dogs; they may ask if you can foster dogs, that need medical care as well as an home environment to recover, you may be asked if you would consider foster dogs with behavioural issues.

This doesn’t mean you have to be able to foster all of these types; you may just want to foster pups.
But good foster homes are needed in all of these categories, and a rescue can offer orientation or instruction to help you deal with each type of foster you take in.

You may be asked to work with a dog on some basic training and temperament issues. There’s more than just feeding, exercise, and grooming involved with a foster dog. Some might need to be house-trained. Others may have problems with chewing, or jumping on strangers. Foster homes may need to devote time to breaking bad habits so a dog can be properly socialized.

You might be asked to nurse a dog back to health. It could require giving them medication at certain times of the day or perhaps bathing them periodically. If you have pets at home, you may have to keep them separated if the foster dog is contagious. Before taking in an animal that’s recovering from an illness or disease, check with your vet if you have concerns about your own pets.

For many foster homes, the single biggest concern is falling in love, especially if you already have pets at home. After all, what’s another dog in the household?

But it’s not always the best thing. If you adopt a dog that you’re fostering, you might have reached your limit of pets in your home and not be able to accept any others. That’s one less foster home for the rescue to rely on.

You have to keep in mind, if I adopt this dog, can I keep on fostering?”

Offering a foster home can be and is important to the success of a rescue. Because of the amount of dogs being abandoned/abused, rescue are always in need of room for incoming animals. Without foster homes, these dogs might not get the chance they deserve.

Foster homes help both the dogs who are may be at risk they’re sick, old, or have other issues that limited rescues can’t always devote the staff to help with.

In a foster home, they get out of the rescue/kennel environment and have a chance to be treated, rehabilitated, socialized and can help them transition to being adopted into a forever home.”

Just a little time with a foster homes family, and away from the confined space of a kennel and the continual barking, can improve a dog’s disposition. Rescues/kennel environments can be very stressful for a dog. Foster homes can prepare a rescue dog for a home environment and allows the rescue to use its limited resources to help another dog on the ladder to its forever home.

The cost of fostering:

Foster homes may worry about the financial burden of taking in a rescue dog, but in most cases, rescues will pay for vet visits and any medications that the rescue dog may need.

They can provide for other necessities if requested — dog dishes, bedding, collars, ID tags, and crates.

Before becoming a foster parent, let the rescue know your financial status, as the rescue will want to ensure that the foster home does not take on financial burdens that may affect them and the dog they foster.

So if fostering a dog is something you would like to do or become involved in, please contact the rescue, who can tell you more and hopefully for a rescue dog out there your the stepping stone to its forever home 🙂

*Please be aware that in order to Foster for the Cane Corso UK & Molosser Rescue, we ask that all Foster home’s do not have children under the age of 12 and that garden/play areas or any area that that the Foster dog has access to must have fencing at least 6ft in height.

We ask this to ensure that both the humans and the dogs in the foster home are kept safe.

Please contact the rescue for further information on offering a foster home :